My intention with this blog is to share some of the more interesting curiosities of math. Often in the form of mathematical puzzles, riddles or paradoxes. Some can be applied to the real world, showing that all is not always what it seems. I'll include a calculation now and then but will keep it light — heck I'm far from a math wizz myself.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Take a look at the above picture, and agree with me that this is weird. We see two triangles, and based on the grid they are both the same size. A quick count of the grid boxes tells us that the surface of both triangles should be 13 × 5 ÷ 2. All the pieces are equal in size, yet by shuffling them around we suddenly have a spare grid box!

This does not make any sense. The act of rearranging the triangle pieces should not change the surface area. What's going on here?